Bhutanese Seeker!

My take on the rupee shortage!

2012-01-16T19:51:00.000-08:00

The rupee crisis is for the simple reason that we import more from india than we export to them. The situation is exacerbated by our ambitious developmental goals which are probably not within our means. This is perhaps why the Governor of RMA has advised the government to reduce spending. The following are my suggestions;
i. The Govt. is borrowing in dollars for its developmental activities, saving the dollars and showing it as an increase in our foreign reserves. However, the downstream effect is that most of the materials required for the intended developmental activity is purchased in rupeee. So, we have a situation where we are happy to accept and save dollars but are unwilling to replenish the rupee cost associated with it. We have to therefore convert the dollars into equivalent rupees to the extent of the amount required in rupees for the developmental activity.
ii. Prioritize projects : Although excessive government spending is probably desirable to expand the economy in Bhutan Case because the Bhutanese inflation is directly linked to the Indian inflation and not our own spending. However, the excessive rupee dependency has adverse effect on our sovereignty. The global war today is played through economics and not guns. We have to therefore spend within our means which will mean prioritizing developmental activities although there may be many desirable ones in hand.
iii. Import substitution : From an economics point of view, it makes sense for Bhutan to import from India and China where the cost efficiencies are probably the highest given their global competitiveness. However, from a self sufficiency point of view, we could try to make substitute products within the country which can be bought in Ngultrums, but would probably come at a higher cost because of the lack of economies of scale. The actual cost of any product that we are buying in Bhutan is the cost we are paying as individuals and the 10% interest that the govt. is paying to make the rupee available.

iv. Increase exports : Hydro power and ferro silicon products are probably the chief exports of our country to India. We have to study the situation properly and start producing products or services which will earn rupees for us. Tax incentives and other short term incentives could be provided by the Govt. for such initiatives to help kick start the project and also to provide an artificial competitiveness to the product or service.

My take on DHIs establishment

2011-10-28T01:59:00.000-07:00

Like most things, the magic is in the details. The issue centering DHI is no different. Let me explain. Ever heard of the Blue Ribbon Panel? This should clarify many questions relating to the existence of DHI. The Blue Ribbon Panel is composed of the prominent nationals such as the Governor, the Secretary, MoEA, Election Commissioner etc who come together to elect the Chairman of DHI. The Royal Charter Mandates that one of the Board Member be a representative of Ministry of Finance. The rest of the Board Members are nominated by the chairman and approved by the Shareholder ( MoF) in the Annual General Meeting, as per the Companies Act of Bhutan. The Board Appoints the CEO and the top Management and so on and so forth like any normal Limited Company in Bhutan operating under the Companies Act. The Chief Difference you will notice about DHI and the other Companies in Bhutan is in Having a Blue Ribbon Panel and an Executive Chairman. The Idea of Blue Ribbon Panel is in insulating any the State Owned Enterprises and National Resources from negative political influence. The intention is not of suspecting the present or any government of ill-intent to the nation but, a precautionary measure, incase such governments do come into power. Political parties have to function under many limitations such as the 5 year tenure, the need to comeback to power and please the voters.

Assume that the State owned enterprises were still under the direct control of MoF. What would be expected of them? Provided Dividends to help the Government pursue its developmental activities and purse social objectives such as rural electrification or rural telephony. A important aspect of the Royal Charter for DHI is to provide Revenues to the Government. Further, annually, the government gives objectives/targets to be achieved by the SoE's as per the governments plans. The Government therefore neither looses out on revenues or the activities to be carried out. The Government instead has the advantage of now needing to interface only with one organization to achieve its interests. This would probably mean fewer staff in MoF to get it all done which is inline with the Governments Policy of lean Civil Service.

Remember the days, when all the SoE's were directly under the MoF. There was a Division of sorts looking into the affairs of the SOE's. There were no mechanisms of target setting, performance measurement, expenditure controls etc. As a SOE's employee, i felt MoF's presence only when Board Directors were to be nominated or when a Salary raise was in question. After DHIs formation, because of the establishment of a institution focused on managing existing SOE's, Control and improvement measures were put in place, more thought was put into having efficient and driven board Directors.

Important Mandate of DHI is investment. The Prime Minister calls DHI the investment Arm of the Government. All of us have heard about the oil rich countries. The oil provides these countries with access to lots of finance for the near future. Recognizing that the access to money is not going to be forever, Soverign wealth and fund management companies are established to make investments which would ensure that the Country in question would have other resources. It is my belief that DHI has been established with similar intent of 'protecting and growing the nations wealth for future generations' . Such organizations will require adequate empowerment. The context of sovereign wealth management becomes more important for Bhutan, because the largest enterprises in Bhutan are all SoE's and private sector is at its infancy.

One look at the Royal Charter, and you will realize that immense wisdom and thinking has gone into the formation of DHI. The interests of ruling governments in SoE are well taken care of. The SoE's in question are subjects to higher requirements of efficiency and accountability. The Nations wealth is being safe guarded for future generations.

For a balanced democracy, the check and balance mechanisms must be in place. DHI in my view, is an institutions set up for such reasons and certainly not as parallel government or centers of power. The avenues to discuss and amicably move forward have been clearly laid out.

If I were the Finance Minister, I would definitely not see any reasons why DHI would 'disrupt the economy'. DHI might take wrong steps sometimes and so might the Government in its intent of using national wealth, but importantly the such of such things have been lowered by many times because of the check and balance mechanisms in place.

I conclude with the quotation from His Majestys Kasho for the LG Elections "In the interest of unity and harmony, I have always encouraged close consultation and cooperation between different branches and agencies of government; between institutions and the public; and among our people themselves. Bhutan is a small country so we must always seek ways to sit together, face to face in the spirit of brotherhood and with unity of purpose, to resolve all issues. We must take advantage of our strength as a small close-knit society."

Democracy as i understand it!

2011-10-27T02:10:00.000-07:00

To me, choice is clearly indicative of a compromise. The pros and cons are there are its for us to see and given the circumstances we choose the one we believe most suitable, and sometimes its choosing the lesser evil. Democracy is a choice of governance, the lesser evil. It seems to be the choice of governance given its highest levels of success and fairness. Democracy reposes faith in us as individual beings in exercising the individual right to vote and responsibly elect representatives who inturn elect leaders. The powers concentrating as we climb higher in the pyramid of representation. It would be utter chaos, unimaginably high expenses if there was a need for voting by all everytime there is a need for a decision.
With institutional checks and balances in place, the executive, the legislative and the judiciary and other smaller check and balance institutions are expected to independently function to ensure that power is not abused or misused, and every one works towards the betterment of the country and its people. With such a system in place, one essential ingredient for a successful democracy is the creative friction. Difference of opinion is expected and should be fostered and must be dealt with respectfully.
Unfortunately, in the want of a giving an opportunity for the best to rise, the defined period of being in power brings with it the unwanted issue of vested interests and bias. This would not be the case of a assured unlimted tenure in an authoritarian government, however, such unlimited power can be a cause of huge distress in the wrong hands. The examples are of China where, implementation if relatively easier with the 'power of god' vested in them, while in India, because of the higher fairness and stronger voice of democracy, often, even essential and good decisions get delayed in implementation because of the many interests in play. All this being said, I guess the idea is of smaller sacrifices in the name of democracy over a autocratic government which someday might fall into the wrong hands and destroy all that's been built and carefully nurtured.
In my opinion, Democracy has a better chance of fairness and equality in the long run. The essential ingredient would be a good educated mass who recognize the responsibility to their own future. A successful democracy would be in place when the mass are able to vote for the best candidate instead of candidates who are related or are friends.

Fairy Tale Marraige

2011-10-26T22:39:00.000-07:00

Reading the happily ever after stories of charming prince and princess never once made me question whether such charms existed in real life. I took it for granted that they are just for books and movies. I wonder why. Was it lack of imagination, was it my practical nature automatically screening it off as a impossibility? The little innocence and idealism that I had as a child is nearing its end and as if it is to re-kindle the innocence and idealism, the Royal Marriage is all aspects a fairy tale charming love story. I was fortunate to have heard from His Majesty himself during an audience along with my office colleagues how under a beautiful starry night, by the side of camp fire, how this love story began 13 years ago. The innocent pledge of " if I am single and you are single at an age when we are both marriageable, we shall be be together " was made. Celebrations on October 13, 2011 fulfilled all those commitments.

His Majesty the King announced to the nation at the opening of the 7^th session of parliament that he would marry in October this year. “As King, it is time for me to marry. After much thought I have decided that the wedding shall be later this year,” His Majesty announced. This announcement with the shyness and humility of a son informing the family would have floored anyone. The traditional celebrations that ensued later and the whole nation coming together to celebrate the marriage of their most beloved son was nothing short of a fairy tale. The kiss sealed it as an occasion than would mark it as a special moment for many to remember and tell their children stories about.

Special mention to the efforts put in by the Government and everyone else to make the occasion a success. The police force deserve a special mention for the peaceful cold nights and tiring days leading up to the occasion as well as during the celebrations.
Tashi Deleg to His Majesty and Her Majesty Ashi Jetsun Pema.

Hierarchy

2011-10-03T04:25:00.001-07:00

Group of people together assigned to a task will produce a rightful leader by a natural process. The hierarchy system in any organization is a man-made process taking into account to recognize experience as a valuable asset which should generally lead to higher productivity. This system is often abused and sometimes the experienced one does provide the necessary leadership.

Allowing a natural process to select a leader would be a interesting sight, most likely chaotic. In some form, this is evident in the many game of thrones played in England in the past centuries and also in Bhutan with so many Debs and Desi.

There is no right way, but perhaps the optimal way is the man-made way with additional system checks in place for ensuring that the leaders provide leadership.

Education

2011-08-16T23:04:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to be educated? Getting a degree? sit in a class long enough and with enough patience everyone will probably have one after about fifteen years of education if you take the standard approach locally available. Well to many, i have a feeling it is means sitting in a class room setting with a lecturer teaching or guiding. I think many fail to understand that the years spent in schooling is a means to an end. Schooling is probably expected you to read, write comprehend and probably help in thinking and researching on your own. There is no way any form of schooling can prepare you for the many facets of life. Schooling will probably impart you with few skills that can get you started, but it is important to evolve and rise to the occasion that will frequently present itself as you play out the many roles in life.

The remuneration dilemma of the Corporations!

2011-08-09T23:19:00.000-07:00

Yup, its here. The long wait is finally over. We have 20% increase in salary. Yes, and this time too it is an allowance. The salary in the corporations have now become near incomprehensible with all the differently named allowances.

I wonder what is the reason for the affection for allowances by our corporate decision makers. I know for sure that the implication is on the accumulating Pension and Provident funds. As it stands today, with the 20% increase in allowances, the Civil Servants enjoy larger long term benefits than the Corporate employees simply for the reason that the Civil servants have a higher basic pay than that of the Corporations. I don't know whether this is a conscious decision of making it so or just a weakness on the part of our corporate decision makers to take strong decisions. If it was finally going to be just an increase in allowance, the question in my mind is, why did it take so long for them to arrive at such a simple decision? I can understand more complexity would be involved an increase in Basic salary or a total delinking from the civil service salaries.

I think its time the Corporate Decision makers sat down and really gave this issue a strong thought. All indications from the Government is that of a salary at par with the civil servants. If that is fair, then so be it. If it is not fair, then a stance should be taken and decisions taken accordingly. Our Bhutanese mentality of a neither here, nor there stance should be done away with. The Corporate Employees often argue of being more efficient and harworking than the Civil Servants. Perhaps, then the differential salary between the Corporate employees and civil servants should be a variable pay based on targets and achievements.

All said and done, I know for sure that Corporate employees certainly do not deserve to have lower pension and provident fund accumulation than that of civil servants. The Government will understandably be pro-civil servants atleast for the short term, given our hardened bureaucratic politicians, no matter what the rhetoric on importance of the private and corporate sector. Its for our Corporate Decision makers to work for the development of the corporate sector and protection of its interests in the long run.

The start of the 30's

2011-07-25T03:12:00.000-07:00

I have heard the phrase " you are the future" so many times, that i think it has got me into a trance and I lived my life with that in my subconscious, until the day of the awakening, when i realized, i am no more the future but the present and probably will become the past soon. :) I remember a teacher telling me that the teen phase will feel the longest and the twenties will just fly by before you know it. Very true, I am on the thirties journey now.

Its a reflective moment as I am at a loss to judge how the journey till the start of the thirties is to be measured. I think the most appropriate question as frequently asked on advertisement is, HAVE I MADE MY LIFE LARGE?

On a personal level, i guess, the best measure would be family. I haven't started mine, so i wonder if i have failed. I see some of my married friends and i know i haven't while some of them make me wish i had started my journey on that front too.

On a professional side, i think i have fared decently with no guilt of wasting time, un-justified salary or the training and travel hunger. I have contributed and in my own ways of measurement, left my mark.

I have met lot of people, have lots of friends and have had my crazy moments. Life could have been better had i strived harder, but I think, in many ways, i consciously chose not to.

I m probably half way through and with my thirty years of experience, I m going to make sure that i make my life as LARGE as possible.

Taking away GNH

2011-03-10T02:18:00.000-08:00

I remember a remark by the Lyonchen after his visit to Brazil that he was impressed with the way they were applying GNH into their lives. He then comes back and orders that ways and means be employed to do the same thing in Bhutan. Including it in education curriculum, trying to get in a forced angle of GNH in everything the Govt does, including the phrase in all important official letters was the only way they saw. Sad and petty! Simple and the most fundamental of it all would be to enact fair and just laws. The tobacco act has taken away so much GNH from people. We are a small country, a small society, where most are relatives others are good friends, friends of friends atleast. Anyone effected by this horrendous act has effect on the GNH of the others. God save us all.

Record for reference during voting!

2011-01-28T01:21:00.000-08:00

As normal and ordinary human being, we generally prefer to react when something is before our eyes. The other humane quality of forgetfulness and forgiveness generally let go on the incident after sometime. So, this is a quest to maintain some kind of record for future reference of the whats being done by the political parties, the good, the bad and the ugly! The decision in who to vote for will be clearer with more information. This is a late start as democratically elected government has been in power for about 3 years. So, whatever is recorded here about whats happened before this day is all out of memory. What happens here after, it will be my constant effort to timely update the records.so here goes:

27/1/11
1. I remember clearly although i was not in the country , the results of the first elections were declared, DPT won by a landslide majority and PDP cried foul and the two MP's threatened to resign. I felt then that PDP was being very irresponsible in accepting the defeat. A beautiful and peaceful transition to democracy was at the danger of loosing its image with the international community.

Negative points to PDP here

2. I also remember reading in a international news paper ( newyork times probably) that one of the founding members of PDP was having no qualms in talking to the international news reporter a day before the elections, with a beer can covered in a news paper, in a bar/restaurant. A day before the elections is declared a dry day by the election commission.

Negative points again to PDP

3. The first democratically elected government was established and then the important role of endorsing the constitution started with the first session of the elected representatives in the NA and NC. The entire country was now faced with the result of what they had done. It started with the total disregard for the proposal of having the Deputy speaker from the opposition.
Poor quality discussions in the NA with closed ears for good suggestions from the opposition party because of their minor presence was the result of what the people had chosen. The acts on the table for discussions were the most important acts, which would have implications not only to the present population but to the future generations as well. I felt sadness and wished it was less of teachers and inexperienced ( probably unemployed) graduates and more of experienced professionals researching and giving their views. I also wished for more debate which was probably lacking because of the minuscule opposition. All constitutional issues surrounding the CDG and the taxation might be a result of inadequate debate

Negative points to DPT and the voters.

4. Approving and hiding of the CDG

The DPT showed the power of their absolute majority in the house. My personal opinion on CDG is that it gives focused political mileage and will probably ensure hereditary politicians. If the intent was really in trying to help people, there are established mechanisms to allocate the fund to the required people. I feel that the whole idea of CDG was for the money to flow from the MP's hands into their constituency. On a positive, I think the CDG will ensure that voters continue having the will to make lots of effort in going to vote. My biggest fear in the intent of the CDG by the ruling government came when they tried to hide the CDG fund in getting the budget approved. This was as sick as it could get and even the best of intent executed in such a way will not have the faith of the people.

Negative points to DPT!

5. who is the big daddy? - Irresponsible decisions.

With a landslide victory and huge representation in the NA, the ruling government is making the most of it. First, it pushes for a revision in tax with out NA approval and then riding on their ego and pride they decide to appeal against a high court ruling which reiterates that the tax revision is illegal. What seems to come on this issue is that, no MP ever thought about direct and indirect taxes when the constitution was being endorsed ( probably because of lack of proper debate).

Then comes the infamous law on the huge restrictions on smoking which is subtle way of banning smoking. The intent is good here, but a ban against smoking is a law for irresponsibility. A smoker at the most is being irresponsible in managing his health. I think there are bigger irresponsibilities that the ruling government should be worried about such as alcohol. I would infact be really happy if such a strong law is framed for the corrupt. But no, in the country today, its more dangerous to be smoking than to be corrupt.

I bet talibanism started on that note too. With very good and religious intents. The danger is of a precedence being set, which can open the doors for many drastic, puritanic and sadistic laws.

There was again this case of salary increase where the MP's were given more than approved and later when the media highlighted it, the government withdrew it citing it as a typographical error.

The most recent issue was that of changing the time for the party goers. Minister MoIC, buys beautiful dress for his daughter and asks her to party at home and so, he feels justified that others should do the same too. Ego Centric or plain stupid???
Negative points to DPT.

Uptill not, to me it seems like a bad start by PDP, a good start by DPT with the present situation being the exact reverse.

I know they say it is the doer's who get criticized and its very easy to be sitting in a chair and commenting on what others do. But the state of things are such that, it really makes me wonder, what if PDP was in power.

A voters dilemma!

2011-01-28T00:55:00.000-08:00

I exercised my first power as a empowered democratic citizen. I went to vote for the Mayor. All the events that led to the day of the vote was interesting. There were friends who were trying to coerce me to vote for a particular candidate, I was trying to exercise my independent judgment on who I should vote for, and there was the general population talking about the preferred candidate. These factors make voting a very complex decision.
I think many of the eligible voters were going similar dilemma as some of the voters i talked to while standing in line to vote hadn't decided who to vote for. Very interesting!

My independent analysis was confusing too. One candidate to me, by his qualifications seemed to better in probably making holistic decision for the betterment of the city. I didn't know him personally. The other candidate, i know him personally to an extent, but i know him very well professionally. In case of need of some services in the future, this candidate would definitely would be able to help me better as I can personally approach him because of our acquaintance. I have enough knowledge about his professional doings to know that i shouldn't vote for him.

The voting day came and i voted for the candidate who i thought would be better for the city than for myself. The candidate i voted for, lost unfortunately! I think i exercised my first democratic vote in a responsible manner. Today, when people ask me who i voted for, I say only god knows!

Smoke in the air!

2011-01-14T02:36:00.000-08:00

I am not talking about the smoke that we see in the mornings covering the thimphu city because of the bukhari's. I am talking about the smoke that we inhale and psychologically experience some pleasure.

It is a sad day for me today. I am onto my last packet of cigarette i had kept as stock incase it would be difficult to get a packet. I hoped that i would be able to quit by the time this stock finishes. Alas, my urge to smoke remains the same and in a day or two, legally, i am a criminal and playing my role in smuggling by buying cigarettes. It really saddens me that I am going to do something illegal, as i really aspire to be a law abiding productive citizen. I guess, a time comes when we are tested. For better or for worse, because of the will of the PASSIONATE lawmakers, i now stand at the gates of becoming a criminal, caught in act or not is a altogether different issue. In-principle, i already am.

I really wonder why the government did not take moderate steps in first banning the smoking in public places and imposing higher taxes. This method failing, i feel they could have taken drastic measures as they have now. The authorities proudly claim that they don't see smokers in the streets and public places now. The question is, couldn't they have achieved this by banning smoking in public places and placing huge fines for the defaulters?

If the intent was of being a responsible government in helping people do the right thing, shouldn't the government have proposed the banning of tobacco, alchohol and doma as one single act? I think our passionate law makers have really lost it this time, and principally, increased the number of un-law-abiding citizen in the country. I really wonder about the long term effects by this law. I m guessing it would probably increase the number of people, who take on to criminal doings, for what is the difference between breaking one law or more laws. As breaking the law becomes a norm and as smuggling becomes lucrative during times of high un-employment, the whole culture of the way people function might change drastically.

For the want of international recognition, i wonder if the government has faltered hugely and really changed the course of the way people think and behave.

In hope of a divine intervention!

Vibrancy testing of democracy!

2010-11-23T23:37:00.000-08:00

The importance of institutional check and balance came to the forefront. An overwhelming majority presence of the ruling party, a minuscule opposition and a newly organized Judiciary! For the common people with a little sensibility and just following the excerpts in the media from the constitution, it was always very clear that raising the tax without endorsement from the parliament is unconstitutional. No expert was needed to render that clarification. The constitution being the mother of all laws, would govern.

For the ruling party, I have no doubts in my mind that a genuine mistake was made although with good intent. A show of humility and respect for the constitution by simply accepting the mistake and tabling it for discussion during the next parliament session would have earned them a lot of respect from the people. But it was not to be, they instead chose the messy path, walking the path of the feigned and delusional understanding of the law. They have lost credibility and faith of the people by this act. I think they stuck to their guns even though they knew they were in the wrong, because they never expected the opposition to go to the Judiciary. I think the ruling party should have sensed the seriousness of the opposition when they demanded the resignation of Finance Minister.

For the opposition party, I think they risked everything. Having just two MP representation, a decision from the court in favor of the ruling party by whatever reasoning would have caused irreparable damage to their standing as opposition party. For they great risk that they took and for the outcome that came in their favor i can only say, well done, well done. You are executing your mandate well. The next time any serious issue crops up, I think the ruling party will now take you more seriously.

For the Judiciary, I think they got lucky. The first constitutional case that was presented to them was a straight forward case because of the stupidity of the ruling party. The judiciary has executed their role and ruled fairly. I hope this sets a precedence of the many judgments that will have to be passed to clarify the constitution. I say this because, i have a feeling that not many of us understand and comprehend the implications of what we endorse in the form of the constitution and the many acts.

What all this brings out is, we are all humans and the necessity of check and balance institutions is very very important. The legislative ( Ruling and the opposition), the judiciary and the executive are basic institutional set ups. More institutions are needed for check and balance for a vibrant democracy. The Anti-Corruption Commission seems to be in need of empowerment. Corruption is a major danger for any democracy, especially for a small country like ours. I also wish to see the National Council adopting more drastic measures than just exercising their votes for helping Bhutan become a vibrant democracy. God bless our nation!

Update : The ruling govt has appealed to the supreme court. Politicking is on. Lyonchens remark that the high court ruling is a very narrow interpretation is a smart comment. He wants the court to read more than whats written. He is asking the courts to be legislators! Its a pity. And in all probability, the supreme court will rise to the occasion and see the need to differentiate between direct taxes and indirect taxes. It sad, although the intent from both the ruling govt and the supreme court is for the larger good! I think it will be a sad case of the legislative and the judiciary not being able to function independently. It will again be a proof of the short commings of a small society, where every one knows or are related to each other. It will again bring out the challenge of democracy in a sparely populated small nation. God save us all!!!!!!!!

the bane of the ban!

2010-11-17T20:21:00.000-08:00

I had a lively discussion with a friend on the issue of banning the sale of cigarettes. I am a smoker and he is not. His argument was that this was a fair law because people are still being allowed to smoke after paying taxes.

I had a different view. Firstly, alcohol is the bigger killer causing not only causing health issues to the person drinking it, but it causes social problems and domestic violence. Alcohol should therefore also be restricted and similar law be implemented, if the concern is for the health of the citizen. Focusing on issue of smoking itself, first question that comes to my mind is that, knowing the ill effects of cigarettes, why are we the only country in the world banning smoking? Is it because of the lobby groups in the countries? If thats the case, there are many eqaully small countries where lobbying groups dont have commercial interests. how come we are the only ones banning it? The answer is simple and straight forward. This infringes on individual rights, which sensible legislators will never dare delve into. Infringing on individual rights is nothing different that what the Taliban did in Afghanistan in requiring women to wear burkhas and men to keep beards.

I think the responsibility of the government is in educating the people about the ill effects of smoking and effects on others as a result of passive smoking. Citizens should have the right to decide on their own whether they want to smoke or not. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The extreme measure of banning smoking, although with a good intent, the danger is of setting a precedence, whereby the Government starts to look into the micro affairs of individual citizens, and curtailing their right to exercise their freedom.

I think the government can do a lot more on curtailing corruption, which is the biggest ill of any society, and will kill even the most vibrant society. This aspect, the government will not look into, because of the many linkages, and because of being possible beneficiaries themselves. Extreme measures, if at all necessary, but be on the bigger ills of the society and not on show pieces which affect the individuals. Think about it!

Update : 200 pieces of ciggrate a month, translating into les than 7 ciggrates a day with a receipt validity of one month. Beat this! is this anything less than saying dont smoke? Why not just explicitly say no smoking to everyone in Bhutan! this kind of tactics is very sad. Let see how the high ranking smoking officials are monitored and how will a tourism and aid dependent country entertain foreign dignitaries and tourists who smoke. C'mon, Lets get real!

The ability to fade away!

2010-11-15T22:52:00.000-08:00

They say there is always a time and place for everything. Let me extend this reasoning to what I am trying to convey here. There are many well known faces here in our country, past and present, who have laudable achievements and hence are legends in their own rights. Well, thank you for what you all have done, and like it or not, its time for a new generation to take a shot at making history and casting their names on stone walls. Its time that the icons of their time know, they have had their time and now its time to fade away.

I write this inspired by His Majesty the fourth King, who has lead a very iconic life and whose contributions are many and now is leading the way in showing how to fade away. All of us have seen how little we see of him although we desire to see and hear more of him. His Majesty is showing that there is a new king and there is where all the focus should be. There are time like the Bumthang tragedy, where the present king was not in the country and his Majesty the fourth king has stood up to the call of a grieved nation. Our respect and love for the the Fourth king grows immensely everyday for his ability to do the right thing at the right time. He has not succumbed to the petty human need of recognition and public attention whether deserving or not.

There are many today in the public service who realize that their time has come and gone and yet they hang on. I wonder whether they realise that their selfishness is a cost the nation causing inefficiency and breeding negatives work cultures. Its time to move on and let the nation be served by people who should! Thank you but goodbye

Something different to what i do ususally!

2010-10-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

I was recently invited to be in a panel to review some degrees in a college. This gave me a inside look into the higher education system of our country. I came out of the review appreciative of the hard work being put in by the college and more importantly surprised ( and a little scared) of how many of the futures of young children lay at stake for want of some decisions and because of the holy cows that had to be protected at any cost.

The first issue i saw was in whether we wanted to conform with the larger generally accepted understanding of degree brands or whether to invent a degree brand perception of our own. This was important especially between two degrees of almost similar course content but different names. Who would not like to be an inventor, a creator? The bigger question in my mind was, would creating a different brand perception not lead to confusion in the job market? The job market is being bombarded with graduates from different countries with the same degree name. I have no doubt in my mind that these graduates from different countries come with different levels of skill sets and competencies. God forgive me for this, but in the consideration of the holy cows, my vote went for creating our own country specific definition of the degrees being offered. This, in my opinion, was the best decision possible, given the situation. We would now have two degrees clearly differentiable for someone with deeper information on the degrees. For the sake of conveying this information to the job market, the specific majors on their degree certificates is expected to provide indicative information on a graduates skill sets.

The second issue was again of the need for differentiation. It is blasphemous to put it lightly, to give graduates the same degree for courses pursued diligently for differently periods of time. For the expected additional skill sets and competencies expected to be gained after spending additional year in college, there has to be a clear differentiation which the job market can easily know from the degree certificates. The job market has already become sensitive to differentiating between honours and non-honours courses. I am happy to say this issue has been resolved beautifully, with the additional recognition provided with an early exit option keeping in mind the duration of courses of other countries where our graduates come from.

The third issue. Ours is a small country. No publisher would see sense in comming out with text books specific to the syallabus prescribed for our degrees. For the development of the student, the course is made as rich as possible, which often means that a single available book in the market doesn't generally cover all the topics. This warrants heavy details in the syllabus, to ensure that courses don't change with change in lecturers, and different college don't approach the same course differently. Many topics taught remain implicit in the syllabus, which would not be covered by other lecturers of the same course. There seems to be elements of laziness and of defensiveness in getting detailed course outlines. I hope this gets done.

On a positive note, the course content seem very rich, and I have no doubts in my mind that, academically graduates from our local colleges would have superior or comparable skill set and competencies with the better colleges in the region.

Vehicle taxation policy

2009-09-16T21:20:00.001-07:00

The increase in taxation on vehicles comes as no surprise. It is about time some drastic measures are taken to either limit the number of vehicles plying on the roads or increase the road network.

It is important to first understand that basic vehicles in this era is a utility and not a luxury. It is also important to consider the fact that although major towns like Thimphu and Phuntsholing are getting over crowded with vehicles, vehicles are still a rare sight in other areas in the country.

If the examples in other countries are anything to go by, a 15% to 20% will not at all effect the purchase of vehicles. It might cause a temporary reduction in consumption, after a short while when the increase in taxes is seen as inevitable, the consumption will come back to normal. This is light of the observation that taxation as high as 50% have failed to curtail demand on cars. This could be because vehicles are seen as a necessity especially when there are no reliable public transportation system.

The positive aspect of this increase in taxes might be increase in revenues for the government.

The increase in taxation being proposed is sensible enough to protect public transport and power tillers. However, it forgets the basics of taxation. Tax should be minimal on utility goods while it should be as high as possible for luxury goods. The proposed tax increase doesn't address that fact that some families own more than one car, especially the richer folks. A husband and a wife should be allowed only one car at the nominal tax as it is a necessity. The second car in the family should be subject to luxury tax.

The proposed taxation system does not differentiate between small cars and large cars. This gives a sense that the tax policy has elitist elements to it. Smaller cars are more fuel efficient and therefore will demand lesser fuel. Fuel is one of the highest consumer of Indian Rupee reserves. Small cars require lesser space too.

The large number of huge luxury cars on the road are mainly due to the tax exemption provided by the Government to the civil servants. To reduce the number of large luxury cars which have high fuel consumption, it might be advisable to do away with the tax exemption certificates to the civil servants. This is more so, because the civil servants and the corporate employees now have almost same salaries.

It is important to have a holistic and systemic perspective to change in taxation policies to ensure stable tax system. We would not like to see a change in tax policy today because of increase in number of cars, and a tax change policy tomorrow because the country is spending a major portion of rupee reserves on fuel or to accommodate more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly cars.

A committee consisting of members both from MoIC, Revenue and Customs, other stake holders would perhaps come out with a more holistic change in the vehicle taxation policy.

Friendly theory!

2009-05-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

These day's I think I am exhibiting this subtle hints arrogance. I say this, because I have already used four 'I" in two short sentences. Hints of arrogance also because, I have this new drive to write theories, some might call it personal philosophies! Sharing and learning through my experiences! Well here I go! What makes good friends? I have this very special group of friends! The number is fast reducing as life brings takes us through new avenues of work and marriage. Many say that friends are generally people with common interests and outlook! Can good friends also be people who don't share commonalities in outlook and interest but be people who respect boundaries? Good walls make good neighbors, why cant good walls also make good friends? Well, some might say, with a wall, how can there be friends! As a very private person, I think my friendship is centered around people who can lead, respect and enjoy their own lives and still have the time to have a good time with other people!

I end with the theory that, my friend theory doesn't make sense and I stand clarified of my misconception before writing this.

De-motivation

2009-04-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

There are many theories explaining motivation and de motivation. It is a science by it self. Interestingly, i realize how even very small and minute things can de motivate a person. I have work in hand and i know i can do it well. I just don't want to do it because of a very small reason. Human .....the most complicated of us all!

Helpnessness!

2009-04-16T04:16:00.000-07:00

I am bored, i have grand visions for my self, for family, my company and my country. I bicker about how things could easily be done in a better and more effective manner. I then remind myself that those decision making people can't be so stupid. I then ask myself why are they making the decisions that they are making. Vested interests ? personal gains? family gains ? or is a long term gain which i am not able to understand? Whatever it is, I think the least that any one taking decisions which impacts many should be responsible and that there can be retractions. And, reasons like the infamous "typo" may not be acceptable again and again.

I think a institution or a yearly journal needs to be circulated to show the impact of decisions taken by our policy makes. The right and visionary decision makers need to be acknowledged while the others need to be shown that they need to be more careful

accident

2009-03-23T03:54:00.000-07:00

I was on my way home at about 1:45 am. I had a small accident over the weekend, i think i dozed off. I am grateful to kenchosum that nothing happened to me, although the cost of repairing is pinching me. As i sit back and now try to analyze why it happened, i have come up with interesting reasons.

1. Alcohol - It was a weekend and like most people of my age, i had a few shots of whisky and it felt good. If this was the cause of the accident, i have driven that road many times, perhaps more drunk than the night of the accident.
2. Medicine - I had taken a tablet of citrizene at about 2 pm of the previous day. I was prescribed this same tablet at imtrat hospital few weeks earler and advised to take it before sleeping if i had car. I asked the pharamist whether i should be doing the same thing when i was prescribed the same medicine at JDNRH. They advised that as long as it was one tablet, there was no issue. Citrizine, i now know, causes drowsiness. don't knw if the effect would still be there 12 hours later because i started drinking alcohol about 6 hours after eating the tablet.

The reason for the accident i like to believe is was a compounded effect of all these reasons. I like a insight my friend gave me when i told him about the accident. Lot of people were using the word 'unlucky' to describe the incident, but a friend used the word ' careless' instead, and said unlucky is when you have left your car parked properly and then it still gets hit and you dont know who hit it. I agree

Unravelling the mysteries of the education system!

2009-03-11T23:14:00.001-07:00

Education! what is it? There is a need to first of all understand that education is more than just becoming literate. Many of the graduates i meet these days can probably communicate decently and read to a decent level, but the big question is can they comprehend the ideas and thoughts? Do they have the ability to read between the lines? I would like to see graduates who have technical skills that the market today demand or atleast have the self confidence to know that given the time and resources they can learn and adapt.

What goes into making such a product? This begins from the very first day at school. If you look at the curriculum upto the 10th standard, any subject is nothing more than english. If you are able to comprehend the English of a mathematical or a science question, the answer cant escape you provided that a certain level of common sense has been drilled into you. Language can be taught, there are proven methods for it. Common sense they say is not so common. I like to disagree. There are proven scientific tools of developing a childs mind to reason out well. These scientific tools topped with proper support from Teachers and parents can do wonders in boosting the confidence of the growing children. My personal experience is that self confidence can do wonders to a child's development. What I am discussing here are mere mortals, who can be decently productive in nation building. I fully agree that Geniuses who change the world come with natural gifts from heaven. I am talking about the mass, the many, the ordinary who can be make a difference in their own small ways.

As much thought that i like to given, with or with out policy support from the government, teachers are central to the development of a child. This leads to the understanding that there is a need for motivated teachers. Where do this motivated teachers come from? Social scientists more or less agree that a bare minimum financial incentive is vital for such motivation. The teachers in our country are given the highest entry level into the civil service, they are given some teaching allowance. I think this should suffice as the 'bare minimum' motivational financial requirement. The bare minimum motivational requirements being provided, why are the teachers still not performing? I think there is a lack of 'interested' teachers. Teaching like most professions are a function of the interest in the profession. Everyone of us have heard of exemplary teachers who despite the lack of resources have motivated the best of leaders. We need more of these people in our teaching system

All this being said, I think there is a need to set up a performance evaluation system for the teachers. This performance evaluation system should measure the effectiveness of teaching with feedback from students. Teachers who perform well should be rewarded handsomely with third country travels and recognition in national new papers. Teachers who perform extremely bad should be warned and similar repetition should lead to the termination of their service.

This is not a silver bullet answer to the many problems that our education system is facing, but one of the many possible means to revamp our education system.

the two different kinds of 50%

2009-02-27T00:25:00.000-08:00

The Education ministry has adopted a cut off of 50% for graduate teachers to ensure 'quality' in the education system. Perhaps a right step forward, I don't know.

What perplexes me is the different standards of 50%. Graduates interested to join the teaching cadre could not achieve 50% and therefore, despite the vacancies, the teaching posts were left empty. Through the "light the nation" project, interviews for temporary teachers were conducted. Here too a bench mark of 50% was set. The difference here was that the same graduates who could not achieve 50% in the RCSC exams had percentages as high as 85% in the Ministry of Education ( MoE) interviews. Most of the graduates selected for the temporary teaching posts were graduates who could not achieve 50% in the RCSC exams. Does this mean that there is a different methodology and standard of the MoE conducted interviews? if yes, why offer only temporary posts, the graduates should be offered permanent posts. if no, why is there so much discrepancy in the percentages conducted by two different institutions.

In a time where our country is facing problems of employment generation I think it is questionable why employment by the education ministry is being curtailed. Instead of a drastic approach, I think it would be wiser to send the higher scoring graduates for high schools and the lower scoring students to primary schools. I am sure a lot of people involved in framing this 50% policy had scored less than 50% during their RCSC exams. Do they consider themselves below the required quality?

Civil society!

2009-02-18T01:30:00.000-08:00

I am appalled by what i read in the the opposition leaders blog. MP's to get salary revision from April 2008, while civil servants get it only with effect from January 2009. I am more appalled by the fact that no official hue and cry seems to be there about it. Why is the media not reporting about it? Even if the Finance minister approved of such a note ( probably for political interests), why did the finance secretary not react to it? Just before democratically elected ministers were sworn in, capable secretaries were put in place in all the ministries to ensure that the there were proper checks.

Although huge changes in system and procedures have taken place in the way our society is supposed to function, we still seem to live in our past. Ministers still seem to have king like security. The empowered and capable secretaries don't seem to be in the picture at all. Fundamental rights of citizens have been defined in the constitution but no one seem to be exercising it. Media has been empowered, but still has a lot to do in informing the mass. Our present civil society definitely requires more civility. We need to take more control and responsibility. We are now faced with a government who will think a 5 year term and look at selfish interests. We do not have a Magnanimous King looking after the daily affairs of the kingdom and peoples welfare.

DPT government seem to be faltering a lot. I am sure there would have been similar issues if it was PDP at the helm. Both these parties are led by humans after all. What I think we lack, is a opposition who has the weight to make some noise. Most of voted for leadership this time. Perhaps, this is where we have faltered. We need to vote for capable constituency representatives to ensure balanced representation in the National Assembly. As important as it is to get the party we believe into power, it is important proper debates happen. Debates, check and balance mechanisms seem to be important for a vibrant democracy. We should not be swayed by pep talks like ' not to vote for the wrong/evil party'.

Lessons are being learnt, society is maturing, things seem to be moving....perhaps not fast enough!

Domestic flights by october!

2009-02-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

A population of less that seven hundred thousand with probably less than 5% of the population able to afford flight tickets and, of this 5%, 80% will probably never have the urgency for a immediate flight into the East. And for the 20% requiring urgent travel to the east sometimes, they will probably not be able to wait for the schedule of flights which I am guessing might be twice a week at the most.

The plan is to rehabilitate the existing Yonphula airport. Any airport will require minimum infrastructure to ensure safety. What we will have is another full group of people almost as many as in the Paro airport idling away their office time. This is probably in line with the employment generation policy of the government, but the big question is AT WHAT COST? Huge number of airport staff, fire safety personnel, fire vehicles, revenue and customs personnel, aircraft monitoring and safety staff etc etc.

Considering our small population and smaller number of people who can afford air travel, limited area available for runway, weather conditions, people traveling at the end of the day on domestic flights would probably be Director level ( and above) on government budget,/ probably MP's too etc. etc, which is added burden to our limited treasury funds.
I think the way forward should be with helicopters. Easier and less complicated to maintain, for its agility given our weather conditions and terrain, lesser capacity in line with projected few number of people traveling by air, lesser landing and taking off space requirement etc etc.
More than the domestic flight services whether airplane /helicopter services which would benefit the few elite in our society, I would like to see road expansions, proper maintenance of existing roads and better public transportation facilities instead to benefit the society at large.

JUSTICE DELIVERED!

2009-02-03T20:57:00.000-08:00

Before me is a system of courts, laws and procedures which i find difficult to call as the system of justice, although the intent is perhaps so.

I am not a brilliant man but i am not stupid either. I don't understand how a rocket can be sent to the moon but i understand simple english sentences and phrases in laws and acts. I know there are law jargons which are not daily english, but with "google" how difficult can it be to understand the jargons too. law-reason with out passion, a simple yet powerful defination. We don't need a law degree to understand simple and stated laws, we perhaps need law degrees to frame laws.

A small country and a smaller judicial community, how easy is it to obtain justice from the such a system? Best to keep away from it as far as possible, if my experience with it is anything to go by. They have the discretionary power to ignore incriminating facts and figures citing laws and procedures and other times they choose to accept facts and figures even though the same procedures and laws dont allow it. I wonder, if they realise at the end of the day all procedures and laws were framed to deliver justice. JUSTICE! JUSTICE! JUSTICE!

To get justice or get decisions in our favour, thorough my experience with the law, i have realised that, beyond logic, reasoning, evidence and law, there is a more powerful tool. It is called influence. It is a good idea to have a family member working in the judicial system or at least a relative, or at the least a very good friend.

The Passakha Industries!!

2009-01-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

I recently had to travel to Phuntsholing. The Gedu-Passakha diversion gave me the chance to pass through our country's most industralised/polluted zone. Think fog/smog could be seen for a strech of about 10 to 15 kms. The pollution is a reason for concern for the Bhutanese and as well as the indians bordering Bhutan.

The logic of the industries in passakha is perhaps worth a thought. It consumes the energy the country could have exported to India. If rumours are to be belived it, the owners of the industries are mostly Indians, so most of the profit goes to India. The employment generation for the Bhutanese from these factories are neligible ( no data to confirm, but i have been told they are mostly Indians). Importantly, the pollution seems huge.

Perhaps, exploring high employment generation aveneues with low electrcity intensity is the right path. The Call Center boom is our neighbouring countries is perhaps the way forward!!

a starting thought!!

2009-01-19T00:21:00.000-08:00

The power of anonymity! It gives me a George Bush like confidence to speak my mind on anything and everything, however stupid or non relevant it might be. Some might like to see it as cowardice, but i attach little importance to confidence while blogging, i just write to express my thoughts.

I recently saw the interview of the young British foreign minister. He is a ardent blogger too and see it as a medium of reaching the masses, a cost effective ways of incorporating views of the common people and thereby maintaining the common touch. The Opposition leader is also blogging. As a common man, i don't fear loosing the common touch, but I would like to observe shifts in my thoughts.

Palest ink is better than the best memory!